Just one week after hosting the AC Milan vs. Tottenham game where the Italian powerhouse emerged victorious, the San Siro will again be shining up bright with the UEFA Champions League lights as Inter Milan hosts Portuguese giants FC Porto in what will be the first-leg fixture of their last 16 tie. Inter finished second in group C to be tied up with Porto who topped group B. Inter will endeavor to make lightning strike twice for the Lombardy luminaries on the San Siro turf by emulating their arch-rival's win on the same soil last week. They experienced a tough group in the last phase of the competition as they had to battle it out with Barcelona and Bayern Munich to qualify for this round and they edged out their Catalonian counterparts by three points to finish second behind first-placed Bayern. 

Inter Milan's last year's path to glory ended at this stage as they succumbed at the feet of Liverpool who ended up finishing as runners-up in the UCL final after losing to reigning champions Real Madrid. Their attempt to quell Napoli in the Serie A title race seems to be a ‘mission impossible’ as they currently seat second in the league fifteen points behind them and therefore will be looking at chasing the Champions League title. Victory against Udinese meant that Inter Milan have won 12 games out of their last 13 played at the San Siro but a 1-0 loss to Empoli also proves that they are not invincible at the San Siro fortress. 

Porto have also faced a similar journey as that of their tonight's rivals in the group stages as it was a three-horse race between themselves, Atletico Madrid, and Bayer Leverkusen. Surprisingly, only Porto progressed to the next stage from the three as Club Brugge upset the German and Spanish giants to finish second in the group. However, Porto suffered a humiliating defeat against Club Brugge at home losing 4-0 to them. In their domestic league, the reigning Primeira Liga champions have been in perfect form over the past several weeks winning their last ten games in all competitions but are still trying to catch up with Benfica in the league title race with a two-point gap between them. 

The Portuguese giant's unbeaten run across all competitions stands at 22 matches since their defeat to Benfica in October last year. They have been able to progress beyond this stage of the Champions League competition in 2018-19 and 2020-21. Their defense to their historic 2004 cup that they won under manager Jose Mourinho ended in a 4-2 aggregate loss to Inter at this stage. Tonight's match will be a very difficult and entertaining match given that both Inter Milan and FC Porto are in their best of forms.